On the move: the latest East Midlands hires

Stephen Hutt

Stephen Hutt has been appointed as operations director of Blachford UK, based in Chesterfield.

He joins Blachford, the designer, engineer and manufacturer of acoustic components for industrial and agricultural vehicles, from Showpla Plastics, a division of Synchemicals.

He brings more than 30 years’ experience within the chemicals industry to the role, including 10 years at senior levels in both engineering and process roles for national and international companies.

Hutt said: “Blachford has a clear vision for it’s future which attracted me to the company. As operations director my role will be key in enabling Blachford to realise this vision in the near future.

“The company is already at the forefront of Elastomer technology and technical innovation in the field of vehicle acoustics, and with the implementation of a really terrific training programme, and world-class manufacturing systems, we can deliver a complete solution for customers, ensuring that Blachford continues to lead in its field.”

The Lubrizol students

Derbyshire firm Lubrizol says it will take on a record number of temporary placement students next year.

Lubrizol, based in Nether Lane, is already preparing its recruitment campaign to attract its next crop of students after it equalled its highest-ever intake in 2018.

The company currently has 27 students working in a number of departments across its site and is one of the most sought-after destinations for university students who are looking take a year out of studying for their degrees in order to get experience of working in the corporate world.

Next year Lubrizol wants to increase the number to 30, while the company has also recruited three placement students at its site in Manchester for the first time.

Sam Bradbury, UK HR manager for Lubrizol, said: “We’re extremely proud of our student placement programme and it has proven to be extraordinarily successful for us over the years.

“We had more applications this year than ever before and it is extremely difficult to get a place on our programme, but successful students like Alex go onto demonstrate skills and talents which have a real tangible benefit to the company.

“At the end of last year, 14 per cent of our total staff were former placement, apprenticeship or PhD students. That’s the highest figure ever and fully justifies the time and money we invest in young people.”

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